CSM Sport and Entertainment

What CSM Sport and Entertainment does

CSM Sport and Entertainment is a London-based global sports and entertainment marketing firm founded in 2011, operating with 501-1,000 employees under a private ownership structure. The company delivers sponsorship consulting, athlete and talent management, brand activation, and live event production services to brand clients, rights holders, federations, and athletes across multiple geographies. Its organizational structure includes dedicated regional and functional leadership, including a Group CEO, division CEOs, and an Executive Chairman (Sebastian Coe), supporting multi-market delivery.

The firm has pursued an inorganic growth strategy, completing four acquisitions between 2013 and 2016 to broaden its capabilities and geographic reach. People Marketing (2013) added consumer activation capability; JHE Production (2016) deepened the Live event production division; and the dual 2016 deals for Curb Media and LeadDog Marketing Group signaled a deliberate North American expansion. These moves established the cross-border footprint that underpins its current operating model.

Business model is agency services-led: revenue is generated through retainer and project-based fees from brand activation campaigns, sponsorship brokerage, athlete representation, and live event delivery. Note on data quality: the detailed website content scraped for this record was identified in source notes as pertaining to "THE·TEAM" (formerly Wasserman) rather than CSM, so product-level conclusions in this analysis are restricted to information explicitly attributed to CSM Sport and Entertainment.

Name

CSM Sport and Entertainment

Legal name

THE.TEAM: SME, LLC

Website

https://csm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

CSM Sport and Entertainment is a London-based global sports and entertainment marketing firm serving brands, rights holders, federations, and athletes with sponsorship consulting, activation, talent management, and live event production services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Marketing Services

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113), Spectator Sports (71121), Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Business Consulting & Advisory (Strategy, Valuation, Due Diligence) (MPAKAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Brand Strategy & Creative Services (Design, Content, Social) (MPAKAKAF), Sponsorship Sales, Valuation & Analytics Services (Rights Sales, Measurement, Consulting) (MPAKALAK), Sports Event Promotion & Tournament Operations (MPAKAKAC)

Keywords

• Sports marketing services
• Talent representation
• Sponsorship sales
• Live event production
• Brand activation

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Core offering

CSM Sport and Entertainment provides sports and entertainment marketing services to brands, rights holders, athletes and event organizers. Core offerings span strategic marketing consulting, sponsorship and rights sales, brand activation campaigns, live event production, premium hospitality access, and talent representation across sports, music, entertainment and creator economy segments. The firm combines consulting-led strategy with execution and activation capabilities across global markets.

Product overview

THE·TEAM is a sports, music, and entertainment company offering an integrated platform of talent representation and marketing services. The core offerings include Sports & Media Talent Representation (covering basketball, football, golf, hockey, NFL, Olympics, rugby, cricket, cycling, and more), Music Talent Representation, Entertainment Talent Representation, and Creator Management. The company also provides Marketing Services (with brand case studies), Live Events (including mass participation and regional expertise), Rights Sales (sponsorship and sports rights), and Premium Access for major events and hospitality. The Collective operates as a research and insights sub-brand that conducts market studies and provides industry intelligence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LIVE·TEAM: LIVE·TEAM is involved in live events, acquisitions, and regional reach operations.
• Premium Access
• Sports & Media
• Music
• Entertainment
• Creators

Products and services

• Marketing Services Strategic and creative marketing solutions for brands, including brand campaigns, partnership programs and documented case studies demonstrating campaign execution and activation across sports and entertainment properties.
• Rights Sales
• Premium Access
• Live Events
• Sports & Media Talent Representation
• Music Talent Representation
• Entertainment Talent Representation
• Creators Representation
• The Collective

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Octagon: One of the largest global sports marketing agencies; competes head-to-head with CSM on sponsorship consulting, athlete & brand activation, and event presentation across major leagues and federations.
• Wasserman (THE·TEAM): Direct rival headquartered in the talent representation and sports marketing space; competes across athlete representation, brand consulting, and live events globally.
• Sportfive: International sports rights, marketing, and event agency competing across sponsorship sales, partnership activation, and fan engagement — directly comparable on rights sales and brand strategy mandates.

Broad incumbents

• IMG (Endeavor): Part of Endeavor/WME, IMG offers overlapping rights sales, events, and talent representation capabilities at greater scale — a natural incumbent competitor for marquee sponsorship and event mandates.
• Creative Artists Agency (CAA): Major global talent and sports agency with growing presence in athlete representation, sponsorship sales, and brand consulting — a broad incumbent comparable in scale and service breadth.
• Lagardère Sports: Historically one of the largest sports marketing networks, active across sponsorship, athlete management, and events; comparable as a broad incumbent though with a less unified current footprint.
• MKTG (Dentsu): Dentsu's sports and entertainment marketing arm; competes on sponsorship activation, event experiences, and brand partnerships across global markets.
• Fuse (Omnicom): Omnicom's sports and entertainment practice, offering sponsorship consulting and brand activation services directly comparable to CSM's brand strategy line.

Emerging players

• Two Circles: Sports-focused marketing agency combining data, rights, and brand partnerships; increasingly competing for sponsorship consulting and fan engagement briefs typically held by larger agencies.
• Global Sports Commerce: Sports marketing and rights company with growing footprint in sponsorship, events, and digital fan engagement — comparable in scope, though typically more digitally focused.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the%C2%B7team-co/posts/?feedView=all
• Instagraminstagram.com/the.team.co
• Xx.com/CSM_Worldwide
• Facebookfacebook.com/csmworldwide

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A4 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CSM Sport and Entertainment